>[re: earlier discussion in same thread]
>
>Sounds like I'm wrong about 57.6 - I can't remember where I picked that
>piece of info up from.
>
>
>>> i don't know what company makes them, but you can buy something called a
>>> hurdler card for the mac... it gives you 4 230k serial ports. there is also
>>> an external scsi-based version. they're made mainly for bbb uses...
>>
>>CSI makes the Hurdler and Hustler.  They sent me a 2-port card,
>>but no programming docs.  They stalled on the programming info.
>>I am talking to Digiboard, though and they are ready to send me a
>>card and programming info.  Their cards are much more pricey, but
>>appear to be higher quality, from what I can tell from spec.
>>sheets.
>>
>>The CSI card looks pretty easy to reverse-engineer, but their
>>"license agreement" forbids it.
>
>Interestingly, many such agreements are in violation of international law,
>and therefore in valid.  Certainly in the UK a piece of computer software
>may always be reverse engineered for the purpose of writing software
>compatible with it, irrespective of the license agreement the publishers
>try to put on you.  I suspect the same applies in the US, and that it also
>applies in firmware cases like this.
>

This isn't necessarily true in the US. There have been cases that held that
making a copy of software for the sole purpose of disassembling it is
copyright infringement. I'd say that there is at least some doubt as to
what is permitted.

Even if reverse engineering would not be illegal, you could give up your
right to do it if you agreed to do so with the manufacturer. That's not to
say that everything in a shrinkwrap license is enforcable, but if there is
an effective agreement, you can give up rights that you would otherwise
have.

Generalizations are not very helpful here. If Allen wants to share the
language of the "license" I'd be glad to look at it.

Brad






>Jules
>
>>
>>-allen
>>
>>--
>>Allen Briggs - end killing - allen.briggs@bev.net ** MacBSD ==
>>NetBSD/mac68k **
>>   Where does all my time go?  <a href="http://www.netbsd.org/">Guess.</a>
>
>
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Stephen B. "Brad" Salai                       bsalai@cyber1.servtech.com
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